09/25/2024
From our Founder Dr. Liz Esalen
Those with trauma that would like to heal with psychedelics: please be very discerning.
Here are some lampposts to find your way to a journey that supports your trauma healing:
1) many providers/guides/coaches say they are trauma informed, but in fact, they are not. They have had their own trauma/spiritual healing and believe that is the way.
Look for professionals that have multiple modalities of trauma theory and treatment approaches.
Don’t be afraid to ask and interview. Those trained in trauma treatment should have very strong psychoeducation skills.
2) do a lot of preparation sessions before medicine journeys.
I’ve found internal family systems therapy to be superior here.
In that language, we need the parts of us that try to protect us to feel safe, to step back and let the client have the experience. We can’t override them. If we do, it’s harmful to the system and it often backlashes.
If we don’t get permission with those parts, they can and often will block and/or sabotage the psychedelic experience. This is very frustrating for clients that desperately want to feel hope and some relief.
Typical protector parts that need support to soften and trust: dissociating, numbing out, resistance (as opposed to curiosity), self judgment/criticism to name a few.
3) ketamine assisted therapy can help clients gently experience non ordinary states of consciousness at lower doses.
It’s fast acting and ends quickly comparatively to other medicines (depending on dosing and delivery: average 1-1.5h).
Compared to other psychedelic journeys, challenging medicine experiences don’t need go on for hours.
***Special note: those with PTSD need to have a LOT of preparation sessions that help them anticipate hard moments; what to do when and if it arises so it’s not traumatizing.
Ketamine has anti anxiety properties which can help go into the altered state with more ease, especially if you start at a low dose.
I will end with one of my favorite quotes from a Luminous client with severe PTSD.
The ketamine was taking effect and she joyfully exclaimed:
“WOW!!!!! WOW!!!!!
So this is what normal people feel like!!!!!”
It was the first time she had felt calm and even ease in her body and being.
We were able to anchor in that experience with integration sessions.
Calm and ease were no longer a theoretical state. They were a felt and known state.
We used integration sessions to bring back that feeling without the need for medicine.
She became medicine.
And that experience was the North Star for how to structure her life going forward. 🙏🏼
